


New Chapters

by Apharine



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Holding Hands, Love Confessions, Romantic Fluff, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:15:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27977202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apharine/pseuds/Apharine
Summary: Aviva has many customers at her bookstore in Circhester, though none are quite as special to her as Circhester's Gym Leader himself, Gordie.  When Gordie asks her to join him for a walk after work on one particularly snowy day, though, they realize just how special they are to one another - and open a new chapter on their relationship.
Relationships: Makuwa | Gordie/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tubular](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tubular/gifts).



> Hey everyone!! This fic features the very lovely Aviva, who is Jackie's OC. Aviva is used here with permission - her relationship with Gordie is absolutely adorable and was such a pleasure to write <3 If you want to see more Aviva content, please check out Jackie's Twitter - her handle there is popsalts!

Early mornings in Circhester have always struck Aviva as being somewhat ethereal. There’s admittedly a rather magical factor to the city at all times, which Aviva suspects is largely due to the ever-present delicate snow flurrying through the air. The city’s architecture, with its grand, old stone buildings, certainly adds to the scene, as well. But seeing Circhester bathed in the soft glow of dawn, with the traces of snow in the air catching and reflecting the light, is a sight magical enough to make Aviva pause as she goes about opening her bookstore for the day.

“It’s beautiful out there, isn’t it?” Aviva murmurs, touching her fingers to the glass of one high, arched windowpane. On the other side, intricate swirls of frost linger, only just beginning to melt in the morning sun.

“Mag,” Minerva, hovering over her shoulder, murmurs in quiet agreement. Then, after a moment, the Mismagius turns to cast an approving eye on the interior of Chandelure’s Chapters, proclaiming a satisfied “Mismag!” at the sight.

Aviva pulls her eyes away from the beautiful scene outside and instead allows herself to savor the beauty of her current surroundings. And beautiful they are - though to Aviva, there’s not much that could top the sight of hundreds of books, all painstakingly ordered by subject and author, ready for customers to peruse.

Not that she read many of them, these days, but still.

“You’re right, Minerva,” Aviva laughs, turning to her partner Pokemon. “It is pretty beautiful in here, too. In fact, I think the only section that needs any work at this point is the History of Circhester bit, over in the corner.” She makes a mental note to put weeding some of the books that hadn’t sold from that section on the top of her to-do list. Truthfully, she’s been putting the work off far too long. After all, it’s not exactly a section that’s terribly in line with the rest of her shop’s vibe, but it seemed to be intermittently popular with the locals nonetheless, so she hadn’t gotten rid of it when she’d taken over the shop. After all, it didn’t take up much room. “Cleaning that up should be a pretty quick job, wouldn’t you say?” Aviva asks, taking her eyes away from the back corner and instead turning her gaze back to her partner Pokemon, who shakes her head in agreement.

But just before Aviva goes to move over to the section, figuring it’ll be a little while before the real flow of customers start, something catches her eye in the window. Minerva sees it, and the pair turn together, curious.

“A customer, this early?” Aviva muses, realizing through the distortion of the frost-covered glass that what they had seen is clearly a person approaching the bookstore. They look like they mean business - there’s determination in their step, and they have a small basket looped around one arm.

They also have a familiar brown jacket on.

“Gordie?” Aviva asks, more than a little dumbstruck ,just as her little Chimecho doorbell tinkles and the man himself steps through.

“Morning,” Gordie smiles, lifting his signature shades and flashing a brilliant smile to Aviva. The sight makes her smile a little in response, if only in disbelief.

“Morning to you, too,” she replies, beginning to drift over to him. “What are you doing here, so early?”

“Well,” Gordie laughs, shifting the basket looped around one arm enough to allow him to pull back the small purple cloth laying atop it. “I just thought I’d bring you some berries for Shuckle. Fridays are usually his big feeding day, and I didn’t want you to have to spend your hard-earned money on making sure he eats.”

Inside the basket are a plethora of berries of nearly every color and size.

“He really eats that much in one day?” Aviva asks, glancing back and forth between the basket and the little Pokemon sitting on the shop’s dark wooden counter. Or, rather, the shell of the Pokemon, as Shuckle himself appears to still be sleeping, with his head and appendages all drawn inside his protective carapace.

“Well - no,” Gordie admits, and Aviva can’t help but wonder if his cheeks were that pink before - perhaps from the chilly air, and she just hadn’t noticed? “But I figured you might enjoy whatever is leftover that he doesn’t want.” He holds the basket out to her tentatively.

“That’s actually really thoughtful of you,” she says, taking the basket from him. “Thank you, Gordie.”

“You’re welcome,” Gordie replies, and Aviva can’t help but think his eyes look remarkably warm as he smiles at her for a moment.

“Shuuuck?” A lazy yawn comes, and Gordie and Aviva both turn to look at the Pokemon once more. Gordie breaks out into quiet laughter as a small yellow head emerges from the top of the shell.

“Hey, you little bugger, decided to wake up because you smelled something good?” Gordie teases, heading over to the counter. He rubs Shuckle’s head affectionately, and though Shuckle does nuzzle into his touch for a moment, it’s not long before he’s trying to peer around Gordie’s hand and body, interested eyes on the basket in Aviva’s arms. “Here - have you ever fed a Shuckle before?” Gordie asks, reaching one hand out and beckoning Aviva over.

“Well - I’ve given him little treats,” Aviva points out, but Gordie smiles and shakes his head.

“That’s just dessert for him. His main meal is very different,” he explains. Intrigued, Aviva draws near to Gordie, holding out the berry basket so he can show her what he means. “Shuckles primarily eat by fermenting berries in their shells, you know. They need the fermented juices as part of their diet to stay healthy - and there’s really no mass-produced equivalent of Shuckle goop. So,” Gordie says, selecting a large Sitrus berry from atop the basket. “You just hand him berries, and he’ll take them into his shell, like this.” Aviva watches as Shuckle takes the berry in his mouth, but rather than chomp down, he withdraws his head once more, taking the berry with him. When he reappears a moment later, the berry is gone from his mouth, having been deposited inside his carapace.

“Oh,” Aviva says, a touch interested. “That’s - rather unusual, isn’t it? How do you know when he’s had enough?”

“He’ll stop taking the berries,” Gordie replies easily, reaching next for a Bluk Berry and handing it to Shuckle, who again disappears, deposits the food in his carapace, and reappears empty-mouthed.

“Can I try?” Aviva asks, reaching into the berry basket to select one. As she does, she brushes against Gordie’s hand, also reaching for another morsel for Shuckle.

“Oh - sorry,” Gordie says, pulling his hand away. Aviva almost tells him not to apologize - after all, his hand had been warm, and not a bother at all - but before she can speak, he continues. “But yeah - go ahead! Shuckle will love you even more than he already does, which is really saying something, considering that he’s already abandoned his role in the Gym to be here.”

Aviva feels the corners of her lips pull up just the tiniest bit at Gordie’s words. Truthfully, she’s a little glad that Shuckle enjoys being here with her so much; making friends with Pokemon seems to come easy for her, which is a bit of a relief, because making friends with humans often does not.

But for the moment, Aviva pushes the thought away as she picks out a juicy-looking Lum Berry and holds it out to the Pokemon.

“You love being here, don’t you? And I love having you. But I’m sure you’ll go back to the Gym when you’re ready, though, won’t you? You’re just here for a vacation,” she says to Shuckle.

“Shuuuu,” the Mold Pokemon sighs dramatically in response, making both Gordie and Aviva laugh. To Aviva’s delight, though, he takes the Berry from her, then drops it into his shell.

“Look at you, you funky little dude,” Aviva says, stroking Shuckle’s head as he re-emerges. “How many can he fit in there, anyway?” Aviva asks Gordie, more than a little amused.

“Probably only one more. Four or five is usually the limit for him.”

As Aviva holds out a Razz Berry, she glances down at the basket.

“You definitely brought me quite a few extra, then, didn’t you?” She asks, quirking one eyebrow up at the Gym Leader. There had to be a few pints’ worth of berries in that basket - far more than just four or five.

“Maybe a few extra,” Gordie admits, a small smile pulling at his lips. “I’m sure you can find a good use for them, though.”

“Well - thank you again,” Aviva says, turning to look up into Gordie’s brilliant blue eyes as she offers one more berry - she doesn’t even know what type - to Shuckle. He smiles down at her, his eyes practically sparkling -

“Shuuuck.”

A loud groan interrupts the moment, and when Aviva turns away from Gordie, she finds that Shuckle is turning his head away from the proffered Berry in favor of retreating into his shell once more.

“Well, I guess that’s that for him,” Gordie laughs, and Aviva begins to put the berry back in the basket once more, setting the whole thing down on her counter next to Shuckle’s shell. “Well,” Gordie says, checking his watch. “I’d better get heading over to the Gym soon, now that that’s done. Big day today, actually. I’m scheduled to face three Gym Challengers in a row - and all before noon!”

“Really?” Aviva asks, surprised - Circhester had usually had maybe one or two Challengers in a day, recently. Three in one morning alone is quite the departure from the norm. “That’ll keep you plenty busy, then.”

“It will - but it’ll be a good kind of busy. Anyway - how about you? Anything exciting on your docket for the day?”

“Just gonna go sort through the History of Circhester section a little more,” she says, gesturing over to the far back corner. “It’s the last bit that really needs to be cleaned up in here.” Gordie’s eyebrows raise in mild interest at her words.

“I didn’t even know you had a History of Circhester section,” he observes, leaning onto the counter.

“It’s nothing much - I’ll show you, quickly, if you’d like?” Aviva offers. 

“Sure,” Gordie agrees, and soon, the two of them are working their way through the aisles of books, Minerva following close behind.

“There’s not a lot here,” Aviva reiterates, gesturing at the few shelves stocked with books on Circhester. Some are obviously in good condition, while others appear somewhat questionable - though, Aviva knows, that isn’t always a sign that she needs to pull a book from her shelves. Plenty of highly-desirable older books couldn’t be found in pristine condition anymore, after all. “But yeah, this is it.”

“Huh,” Gordie says, running his fingers down the spine of a book entitled  _ The Hero’s Bath: Mysteries and Legends.  _ “I’ve never noticed. Have you ever actually read anything from this section before?”

Aviva fights the blush coming to her cheeks.

“Can’t say I have. I suppose I should put that on today’s to-do list, too, though. After all, it might be good for me to know a bit more about the history of my new home,” she says, trying to brush off her ignorance on the topic with a quick joke.

“If a bit of history is what you’re looking for,” Gordie says thoughtfully, soon turning to her with another of his dazzling smiles. “Then tell you what - how about instead of just reading about history, I give you a personal tour of the City and share with you what I know? Nothing makes history come alive like seeing the places where it all happened, after all.”

“You know enough about Circhester to give me a history tour?” Aviva asks, arching one eyebrow slightly.

“Of course! As Gym Leader, I know a lot more about the city than you might expect. I guess you could say that I’m rock-solid in both my knowledge of Pokemon and of Circhester,” he adds, his smile growing larger still.

The joke is so corny - so outright  _ bad  _ \- that Aviva struggles to keep the corners of her lips from quirking up.

“That was awful, Gordie,” she teases, though she knows her facade isn’t as smooth as she’d like it to be.

“You love my cheesy jokes, Aviva, don’t try to deny it,” he says. Aviva glances away, pretending to roll her eyes, though again she can’t hide the growing smile on her lips.

“Whatever,” she says.

“So? What do you think? Maybe a history tour together after work, and then we can grab some takeout from Bob’s and go watch that special on  _ Hauntings in Kalos _ that’s supposed to air tonight?” Gordie presses, undeterred.

“Wait - is that really tonight?” Aviva asks, perking up at mention of the highly-advertised TV documentary she’d had her eye on for the last couple weeks.

“Sure is. I checked online just yesterday evening to make sure.”

Aviva’s lips curl up just a little at the thought. He’d checked. For  _ her _ .

“You know what? Yeah. That sounds like it would be pretty groovy. Pick me up for this history tour at the shop after closing?” She asks.

“Sounds good,” Gordie grins.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of Aviva’s day is busy enough to make the hours move along. They don’t quite fly in the same way that they do when she’s spending time with Gordie, but there’s a deep sense of satisfaction and passion infused in everything she does, nonetheless. 

Still, she can’t help but notice the way she stiffens up just the slightest bit when she’s around other customers - even her regulars. And is it just her, or is she even talking more…tersely when they’re around? Perhaps tersely isn’t quite the word for it, though - but whatever it is, Aviva notices that she certainly doesn’t tell any of her other customers that anything would be  _ groovy _ . 

Which, she figures, is just as well. Her customers are there because they want to do business with her. Gordie -

Well, he does business with her, too, but there’s something  _ different  _ about it all.

Aviva is so lost in her thoughts as she polishes the counter just to have something to do that she doesn’t even notice she’s accidentally polishing poor Shuckle’s shell until his head emerges and he grumbles discontentedly.

“Sorry, buddy,” Aviva laughs, scratching under his chin. He leans into her touch in a way that tells her all is forgiven. “Just…thinking. About your rightful Trainer, actually.”

Across the room, both Minerva and Orion, her Chandelure, turn to look at her in interest as she says the words. Despite the fact that Orion’s face would seem to allow for a very limited range of expression, there’s nevertheless a very specific gleam in his eye that tells Aviva he’s onto something.

She blushes and ducks her head, scarcely believing she’s trying to hide her embarrassment from her own Pokemon, then says perhaps a little too quickly to the currently-empty store,

“Well, the front area looks good and cleaned up, now, so if anyone wants to come help me finish organizing the History of Circhester section I’ll be over there.”

Aviva sets her rag down and shuffles over to the far corner of the store - the one still most in need of attention. To her surprise, Kayuki, her Froslass, is already there, with a couple books spread open on the ground around her.

Although, Aviva considers, perhaps she shouldn’t be surprised after all. Given Kayuki’s sibling rivalry dynamic with Minerva, the Froslass had probably taken pains to ensure that she was the one in the section Aviva needed to tend to - and not the Mismagius.

“Fross,” she trills innocently, pointing one delicate hand at a book which is opened to a page with a picture of the Hero’s Bath.

“Yeah, you’ve been there with me before, haven’t you?” Aviva smiles, bending down to collect the book. It seems to be in decent condition, and it’s actually a title she recognizes -  _ Circhester through the Ages.  _ She’d had three copies of this book to start with, which was somewhat unusual in and of itself, especially for such a small section of her store. The fact that local high school teachers had bought two so far had only made the title stand out all the more in her mind.

Kayuki hovers closer to the book, chattering away, then goes to turn the page. She’s a bit rough with the paper, though, so Aviva reaches over to help her.

“We’ll want to be careful with this one,” she says gently. “It’s a title that sells pretty decently, so we need to keep it in good shape.” Nonetheless, she helps her Froslass turn the page, surprised by the picture on the next page. It’s a four-paneled image, and the caption states that each panel depicts one of the fabled tapestries that hang in the Hammerlocke Vault. Two heroes, armed with a sword and a shield, drive off the Darkest Day; the caption states that these are believed to be depictions of the very same two heroes that used the Hero’s Bath to heal and rest.

Kayuki trills once more, her little arms waving around in excitement.

“That  _ is  _ pretty rad,” Aviva laughs, reaching out to rub Kayuki’s head, right in between her little gems. “Maybe I’ll be able to tell Gordie something he doesn’t know when we go on this little history tour together. All thanks to you, of course,” she adds, and Kayuki chirps and sways side to side, eyes closing in happiness.

Out of curiosity, Aviva goes to turn the page one more time. There’s quite a bit of text on this page, but there’s at least one decent-sized picture, too. Shifting the book into her lap, Aviva flicks through the pages. Frankly, there are far more images in this book than she’d expected - it’s no surprise it’s popular as a teaching aid.

Aviva’s Pokemon cluster around her as she continues to browse the book. She learns a bit about the first settlers of Circhester, where the water from the Hero’s Bath comes from, and the biggest influencers of the architectural style - all just from reading the captions of the many, many pictures.

She’s interrupted a couple times by customers, but ultimately decides to just bring the book with her to the main counter, instead, where it’ll be easier to browse and keep an eye on the store at once. There’s plenty of room on the counter to balance the book; Shuckle has disappeared in favor of moseying off somewhere else - and, she notices, so has a particularly large Kelpsy Berry from the basket Gordie had given her.

By the time she’s finished with the book, there’s only an hour to go until closing. Truthfully, Aviva feels guilty calling the book “finished” - after all, it’s not as if she’s really  _ read _ it. She’s only just perused the easiest-to-understand bits. Still, she’d learned something, and now felt as if she could truly recommend the book, so that had to count for something, no?

“Mismag?” Minerva asks, pulling Aviva out of her thoughts. 

“Yes - it was very good,” Aviva admits. “Maybe now I won’t look like such an ignoramus when I’m out with Gordie tonight. But,” she adds with a sigh, glancing over to the History of Circhester section, which is now messier than ever. “I haven’t really done any of the work I meant to do today.”

Orion makes a determined noise and begins to drift over to the section. Shuckle, having apparently made his return to the counter, nudges his head against Aviva’s arm, urging her to go after him.

“All right, all right, I get the hint. Today’s not over, yet,” she says, following Orion’s trail.

Truthfully, the job does end up taking less than an hour with her and her Pokemon working together - though Napkin causes some trouble, as always. Nonetheless, soon, Aviva is stepping back, smiling at the now very organized - and marketable - History of Circhester section.

“Looks like you all got some good work in today,” a familiar voice calls, and Aviva and her Pokemon all spin around, each of them surprised. 

“Gordie?!” Aviva exclaims. “I didn’t even hear you come in!”

“Oh, really? Your little Chimecho did its little cry when I opened the door and everything,” he says, gesturing back to the little doorbell. “Guess you were just really focused. And it seems like it paid off - the section looks great!”

Somehow, Gordie’s easy body language, his casual gestures, that brilliant smile - well, really, everything about him - it all puts Aviva at ease again. She feels safe with him in a way that she hasn’t felt with anyone else throughout the day. Her own Pokemon, she figures, don’t exactly count.

“You really think it looks rad?” Aviva asks, unable to keep a small smile from pulling at her lips.

“The whole  _ place _ looks rad, Aviva,” Gordie says gently, approaching her. “I - uh, have something for you, by the way.”

“What?” Aviva says, genuinely surprised. “You don’t have to get me anything - you just gave me those Berries this morning!”

“Yeah, I know. But I was thinking about it, and I realized that Shuckle can sometimes get a bit…smelly when he starts fermenting his big weekly meal.” Shuckle, poised once more on the counter, merely grumbles in response. Gordie laughs, but continues. “I’d hate for your shop to start smelling like sour Shuckle juice - and I know you wouldn’t like it either.” Aviva wrinkles her nose at the thought. Her disdain for bad smells runs deeper than just the sheer misery of having to live in foul miasma - if any odor infiltrates her books, she’ll have a much more difficult time selling them. “So I got you an odor-reducing scented candle. It should take care of the job, based on the reviews online…” he trails off, holding out a triple-wick purple candle in a glass jar.

“Gordie!” Aviva exclaims, taking the candle from him and taking a deep whiff of it. It smells magical - and though she might already have a couple like it, she’s not about to protest at being given one more. “This - this is the Combee’s knees!” 

“Oh, uh, it is?” He asks, a light blush coloring his fair cheeks. “That’s good, right?”

“Yes. It’s beyond good. It’s, like, totally awesome - and really sweet of you. Thank you, Gordie,” she adds, reaching out and touching the man lightly on the forearm as she walks by. Gordie’s blush grows, though Aviva doesn’t quite see the dreamy smile that lingers on his face, as she’s too busy heading for the main counter. “In all honesty, I thought I was starting to smell something a little funky today. I kind of just chalked it up to the History of Circhester section at first - but now I know it’s you, you little menace,” she grins, tapping Shuckle gently on the head.

“Shuuu,” he sighs.

“Sorry I didn’t think of that earlier this morning,” Gordie chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck as he approaches Aviva. “I hope I haven’t inconvenienced you too much.”

“Not at all,” Aviva smiles, then touches his forearm again. “I do appreciate your thoughtfulness, you know.”

This time, she most certainly sees the dreamy smile that spreads across Gordie’s features.

“Well - I, uh,” he stammers, then shakes his head to clear it. Aviva can’t help but to blink in confusion; did she really do that to him? Surely, he’s just a little tired from the long day he’s had. But Gordie recovers quickly, continuing, “You’re welcome, Aviva. I appreciate you taking care of this little guy. You’re a really kind-hearted person, you know that?”

Aviva feels her eyes widen and her heart beat faster. Her? Kind-hearted? She wouldn’t say she thinks of herself as  _ mean -  _ not by any stretch of the imagination - but the words are nonetheless a shock.

“Oh - I’m sorry, have I upset you?” Gordie asks, concern in his eyes. Aviva feels a blush rising to her cheeks; she hadn’t realized her reaction had been quite so…obvious.

“No - I just - I haven’t really had a lot of people get to know me well enough to call me anything like that, recently,” Aviva admits, her voice growing more quiet as she speaks. This time, Gordie reaches out to her, setting a gentle hand over hers, where it rests on the counter. His palm is so much bigger than hers, but it’s soft and warm, too. It’s comforting in a way that she likes and wants more of.

Aviva feels her brain begin to short-circuit a little more than it had before. If she could just turn her hand so that her palm is touching his -

“For what it’s worth, Aviva, I think you’re a lot more than just kind-hearted,” Gordie says, giving her hand a quick, tender squeeze. But then, the next moment, his touch draws away, and he turns to look out the window. “But there’s time for me to tell you more about that later tonight. I think, for now, we’d better get started on this big History Tour before it gets too dark outside.”

Aviva takes a steadying breath, trying not to look too closely at anything - not at Gordie, not at her Pokemon, not even at Shuckle. Is it just her, or does even that little yellow bug look like he knows something she doesn’t know?

“Right,” she finally says, finally deciding to turn and focus her gaze out the window, too. Gordie’s right; there’s not that much sunlight left to the day. “We’d better get a move on. Let me run upstairs real quick and change into my outside shoes.”

“Sounds good,” Gordie nods, and Aviva begins to hurry over to the stairs that connect her apartment to her shop. Before she can go, though, Gordie calls to her, and she pauses. “Hey - one last thing. Do you want me to get Shuckle in his Pokeball? I’m assuming you don’t really want an unattended candle burning in here, because of the safety risk….but you probably don’t want his smell getting worse, either.”

“That would be great,” she agrees, then turns to the stinky little Pokemon himself. “Do me a favor and go along with this, just for now, Shuckle? I promise you can come right back here with me at the end of the night.”

Shuckle blinks at her, then nods.

“That’s my boy. You’re the Meowth’s pajamas, you know that?” She asks, beginning to head upstairs. Faintly, she can hear Gordie chastise his Pokemon, though there’s no real anger to his words, only playfulness.

“You’re technically  _ my _ boy, you little traitor,” he laughs fondly. She’s pretty sure, as she unlocks her door, that she also hears Gordie say something that sounds very much like “Though I don’t blame you - who wouldn’t want to spend more time around a person as lovely as Aviva?”

She pauses again, listening more carefully, but all she hears this time is the sound of a Pokeball opening.

Surely she didn’t hear that right - it’s probably just wishful thinking on her part. Still, he’d said something about thinking she’s a lot more than just kind-hearted, hadn’t he? And about telling her more about that later tonight?

As Aviva slips into her apartment and flicks the lights on, rummaging about for shoes suitable for the snow that’s likely to begin coating the streets, she makes a mental note to hold Gordie to that promise.


	3. Chapter 3

The snow is coming down a bit more heavily than usual as Aviva and Gordie wander down the street together. Aviva casts an eye up to the sky, noticing the way the early evening sky is even darker than usual owing to the thick cloud cover rolling in.

Are they supposed to get a storm? She hadn’t heard anything about it all day, but still….

“Hotel Ionia is actually one of the oldest buildings in the city,” Gordie is saying, a smile on his face and his hands in his pockets. As Aviva glances back over to him, she can’t help but smile a little too. “Which, of course, makes it one of the oldest buildings in all of Galar, too. It’s been renovated a few times over by now, but still. Kinda coo, right?”

“It is,” Avia agrees, then blurts, “Did you know it actually started as a barracks for the very first Galarian explorers and settlers?” Gordie slows his pace, raising his eyebrows slightly as his smile grows.

“Hang on, I thought you didn’t know anything about Circhester history,” he says.

“Well,” Aviva says, not really sure if she wants to admit to browsing the pictures of a high school book.

“Don’t tell me this was all a ruse just to get me to take you for a walk,” Gordie teases, sending her a playful wink. Despite the cold air, Aviva can feel her cheeks heating up.

“No - no, it’s not that!” She insists. “It’s actually…well, I told you I was gonna clean up the History of Circhester section today, right? I kind of ended up just browsing through this one book from the section for part of the day, so…” Aviva trails off, shrugging her shoulders a little and feeling a touch awkward. This probably wasn’t what Gordie had expected to hear from her, given that  _ he _ wanted to be the one to teach her about Circhester.

But, to her surprise, Gordie positively lights up, his smile growing.

“Did you really? That’s brilliant! Look at you, a little Circhester expert in your own right,” Gordie laughs. Before Aviva can protest, though, he continues. “In that case, maybe you can fill in some of the gaps in my knowledge with what you’ve learned.” Aviva feels some tension she hadn’t even realized she was carrying go out of her shoulders.

How could he be so soothing to her, so easily?

“Anyway - I’ve actually never stayed in the Hotel, but their food is really good,” Gordie continues, beginning to walk again. Aviva falls in step with him once more, noticing the way that the snow has started to fall in larger flakes than before. It seems a winter storm is impending after all. “It’s sort of this classic Kalos-inspired faire, because of the way that Circhester is a sister city to Snowbelle. We used to get a lot of visiting Trainers and dignitaries from there - still do, actually.”

“Wait, really?” Aviva asks, a little surprised. “I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah. Mum’s been to Snowbelle a couple times, and someday, it’ll be my turn to go, too. We stay friendly with the Ice-type Gym over there…though hopefully they won’t be too disappointed that we’ve changed from Ice to Rock, recently.” He smiles somewhat tersely at the thought, and Aviva drifts forward, reaching out to set a hand on his shoulder. Even through his coat, he’s pleasantly warm.

“I think, if anything, they’ll be happy to see that you’ve taken over. They must have heard all about you from your mum for ages,” Aviva smiles knowingly. Gordie slows his pace once again, turning to look at her. 

“If I know my mum at all, me - and my siblings - are probably all she talked about when she was over there. So maybe you’re right,” he says.

“I’m definitely right. And if that’s not enough to convince them, I’m sure that your brilliance as a Trainer will be,” Aviva adds gently, squeezing his shoulder before pulling her hand back. The wind blows fiercely, chilling her fingers, and she drops her gaze from Gordie, shoving her hand deep into her pocket to try to warm it. Why hadn’t she thought to bring gloves?

“You really think so?” Gordie murmurs, drawing Aviva out of her thoughts. When she glances up at him once more, both his eyes - and his smile - are soft.

“Yeah, I definitely do. Anyone who sees you out on the battlefield knows you’re wicked awesome, Gordie,” Aviva says gently in return.

Before Gordie can reply, the wind whistles down the street once more, making Aviva shiver. She ducks her face and closes her eyes, trying to hide from the worst of it, and shrugs her shoulders in an effort to pull her coat collar up higher.

“Aww, Vi, you look half-frozen already,” Gordie murmurs, stepping in front of her and shielding her from the wind with his body. He sets one big hand on each of her shoulders, almost pulling her into him - but not quite.

“Vi?” Aviva asks in amusement, blinking up at him and taking a step towards him. Had he been thinking about this nickname for a while, or had it just slipped out? Either way - it’s endearing. Aviva scoots in just a touch closer; they’re not quite touching, but he  _ does _ protect her from the worst of the whistling wind - and at this proximity, he radiates warmth.

“Oh, um, uh,” Gordie stammers, his face turning as red as a Razz Berry as the wind dies down once more. “Sorry - I don’t know what I was thinking. And I don’t have to call you that, or anything.”

“No, no - it’s - I didn’t mean to make you feel awkward,” Aviva stammers, her face now heating up. “I’m sorry. I - well, I actually thought it was cute.”

Gordie stands stock still before her, his eyes wide, and Aviva becomes aware that she’s holding her breath.

“R-really?” He stammers, a smile stretching his handsome features.

“Yeah. Really,” Aviva smiles back, letting out her breath. “I don’t think anyone’s given me a nickname before - at least, not a nice one like that…so. Yeah. I love it, and if you wanted to use it more, that’d be fine by me.”

Gordie’s smile grows even wider, and his strong arms suddenly snake around her shoulders, pulling her firmly into his body. Aviva squeaks a little at the suddenness of the embrace, but soon, her arms are automatically wrapping around Gordie’s strong, soft chest, holding him close in return.

“I’m so glad to hear that, Vi,” Gordie murmurs into her hair. “I’ll definitely use that as a nickname for you, then.” He pulls back the slightest bit, smiling down at her. Aviva prepares for the loss of warmth that will come when he lets her go - but instead, one of his hands moves up to her hair, brushing aside the snowflakes that have begun accumulating there. “You’re getting all snowy,” he chuckles. “Did you not bring a hat?”

“No,” Aviva admits, then reaches up to do the same to Gordie. “You didn’t, either, though,” she points out.

“I’m from here,” he smiles. “So I’m used to getting snowed on. You, though - you’re looking pretty chilly already.”

“It’s getting colder out than I’d expected,” Aviva admits.

“Temperatures drop quickly here when the sun goes down, especially as winter starts to roll in,” Gordie agrees. “Plus, it seems we’re getting a storm. What do you say we head back to your place and stop by the Hero’s Bath on the way up the ramp? The heat and humidity from the water should defrost you a little, and we can just order delivery from Bob’s.”

Aviva considers the option, then pouts a little.

“We haven’t made it through most of Circhester, though,” she points out. Gordie chuckles, then finally pulls away entirely. As expected, Aviva is suddenly significantly chillier without his body heat.

“Don’t worry, Vi, I’ll give you part two of the tour when it’s not so nasty out,” he offers, then holds out his arm to her. “What do you say?”

Aviva feels her face heat up once again. Is he offering to walk arm in arm with her?

“Sounds groovy,” she manages, her heart pounding as she loops her arm through Gordie’s. She sets her hand on his bicep, grateful that with the coat there, he won’t feel how clammy her palms have suddenly become.

“Awesome,” Gordie beams, then begins to walk down the street with her once more. To Aviva’s surprise, walking with him feels easy - natural, even. She allows herself to nestle into him just a little, figuring that if he takes notice of it, she can always just say she’s chilly and needs some of his body heat. But though his blue eyes slide over to her, he doesn’t say anything, just presses into her a little more in return.

Interesting.

Gordie makes small comments about Circhester as they head towards the Hero’s Bath, pointing out little things about the city. Apparently, the stones of one side street were supposedly laid down by Stonjourners who taught the humans of this city how to work with the material, and the bed and breakfast at the end of it is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a Unovan explorer.

“Really?” Aviva asks, perking up at the mention of anything to do with ghosts.

“Yeah. The last owner of the B&B said that she saw his ghost with her own eyes, and that he even talked to her,” he grins, knowing exactly how interested Aviva is in hearing about this. “He supposedly met his end on one of his Unovan expeditions, at the hands of a bunch of Cofagrigus.”

“Why would he come back here, then?” Aviva muses, frowning a little.

“Well - the owner said his ghost told her that her B&B was the coziest place he’d ever stayed,” Gordie laughs.

“Sounds like a bit of a marketing gimmick,” Aviva says, unable to resist laughing along with Gordie. 

“I thought so, too,” he admits. “But a few people have reported seeing him since, so you never know.”

“Maybe we’ll have to stay over there sometime to check it out,” Aviva blurts, then realizes what she’s said. Before she can stammer something out about Gordie not having to spend the night with her, though, he laughs again.

“As long as you’ll hold my hand, I suppose I can be brave enough to go on a paranormal investigation with you, Vi,” he says, and though there’s a hint of playfulness in his voice, he’s not actually teasing her, or being sarcastic.

Huh.

“I’m sure my ghosts will keep us safe,” is all she can think to say in response, though she knows Gordie sees the way her lips curl up into a small smile.

A part of her doesn’t care, though. The thought of doing more things with Gordie is…surprisingly nice.

It seems like they reach the Hero’s Bath all too soon for Aviva’s liking. Though it’s cold out, she could listen to Gordie - and walk like this with him - for the rest of the evening. Or so she thinks, until she feels the warm, humid air of the hot springs hitting her hands and face. Somehow, the heat makes her realize just how chilled she’s become, and Aviva slips her arm out of Gordie’s, pressing her hands together for warmth.

“Well, here we are,” Gordie announces. “The last stop on today’s tour before your place. Ah - assuming you’re okay with going to your place and not mine to watch the TV special? I should have asked -”

He trails off, eyes wide, as he finally turns, seeing Aviva warming her fingers with her breath.

“Vi,” he says softly, moving over to her once more. “You should have told me your hands were so cold.”

“I didn’t really realize until just now,” she admits. “But yeah, they’re nearly frostbitten. I kinda wanna go stick them straight in the Hero’s Bath - though I know they’ll only wind up colder than ever afterwards…”

“They’re that bad, huh?” Gordie murmurs, stepping closer to her and reaching out for her hands. He folds his bigger fingers around hers gently; to Aviva’s surprise, he’s incredibly warm. “You really are freezing,” he frowns.

“How are your hands so warm?” Aviva asks, eyes wide.

“I’m pretty much always warm,” Gordie laughs, folding her hands further into his. The heat feels delicious on Avivia’s icy skin, and she can’t quite resist taking a step further towards him, until she’s close enough to see the little snowflakes that have gathered on his eyelashes.

Have his eyes always been this beautiful, or is it just the light? 

“Vi,” Gordie murmurs, his blue eyes searching hers. “Why don’t we get you home and get you de-frosted?”

Aviva can’t help but feel a pang in her chest. As much as she wants to go home and get warm, she also wants this moment to last forever. At the same time, she knows the snow is starting to accumulate on the streets around them; they’ll need to hurry home before the walkways get icy.

Still - they have at least some time to spare, don’t they?

“Can we stay here just a little longer?” She asks, her voice quiet. “It’s so beautiful. I don’t want to leave just yet.”

“If that’s what you want, then yeah, of course,” Gordie agrees readily. “Let’s get you a little closer to the water, though. The heat should help you warm up a little.” He pulls back and goes to let go of her hands, but Aviva chases him, holding onto him.

“Wait, don’t go,” she laughs. “You’re warm, too.”

A brilliant smile breaks across Gordie’s face, and he wraps his fingers around Aviva’s once again, pulling their entwined hands close to his chest.

“In that case,” he says. “I’ll be glad to warm you up.” 

They walk shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, over to the edge of the Hero’s Bath; Aviva has to once again nestle into his side to be able to hold both of his hands as they walk. She’s sure the two of them look like quite a sight, like two Rookidees huddled together - but she doesn’t really care.

Something about Gordie makes her feel…free. Free to be ridiculous. Free to be herself. Free to not worry about what other people thought.

Gordie leads them towards one of the wide, yet short, square pillars that rim the Hero’s Bath. He sits down on the flat stone surface, letting go of Aviva’s hands for a moment, then scoots over just enough to make room for her to sit next to him. They have to sit shoulder-to-shoulder to fit, but Aviva doesn’t mind.

Nor does she mind when Gordie reaches back out to her hands. His touch is light, tentative at first, but when Aviva turns her hands to take his in return, his touch grows more confident, his hands closing around hers almost protectively.

They stay like that for a long while, side by side and holding on to one another, neither of them speaking. It’s funny, in a way.  _ Circhester Through the Ages _ had covered quite a lot of information on the Hero’s Bath; Aviva is sure that she could tell Gordie a thing or two he doesn’t yet know about it. Similarly, with the Bath being one of the major landmarks in Circhester, she’s also sure that Gordie has plenty of knowledge on it that she doesn’t have, either.

But the need for words falls away. History doesn’t matter right now; even though Gordie had said this was the last stop of his History Tour for today, Aviva can’t help but feel that the tour had ended a while ago. For a while now, it’s been just the two of them, out together, enjoying one another’s company - and trying to warm her up.

And, truthfully, she is getting quite a lot warmer. The air immediately around the Hero’s Bath is so warm and humid, it feels rather like a sauna. It helps, too, that Gordie’s body is warm against her.

Warm, and soft, and reassuring.

Aviva blushes a little as the thought crosses her mind. But it’s true; his presence is delightful next to her, and very reassuring. She knows he likes to make a lot of rock-solid jokes about himself, and it mostly has to do with his Type specialization - but really, she thinks, he has been a rock-solid presence in her life ever since he walked into it, and that accounts for something, too. 

He’s more than just handsome and brilliant on the battlefield - he’s a good person. And he’s good to her.

And he deserves to hear that.

Aviva goes to turn to Gordie and speak at the same time that he goes to do the same thing; within moments, both of them turn into blushy, apologizing messes.

“Oh, Gordie, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean -” Aviva says.

“No, I know, I didn’t mean to interrupt you either,” Gordie laughs. “Please, go ahead.”

All of Aviva’s confidence drains out of her abruptly. What had she been thinking? It was one thing to think so fondly about Gordie - but another thing entirely to share her thoughts with the man before her.

Her face heats up further, and she stammers,

“N-no, that’s all right. You go ahead, Gordie, I insist,” she says, trying to make her voice sound firm as she finishes her sentence. She’s sure that if he insisted she talk first, her mind would be too flustered to come up with anything that could pass as even a halfway-decent cover-up.

“You’re sure?” Gordie asks; Aviva nods emphatically. “Well, I usually believe in ‘ladies first’ - ah, I hope that doesn’t make me sound sexist or something?” He frets.

“No,” Aviva laughs. “It doesn’t.” He’s too genuinely kind for his little bit of chivalry to ever come across that way.

“Okay, good,” Gordie laughs too. “Anyway - I, uh, was just gonna say,” he starts, then says tentatively, “Vi…”

Suddenly, it seems that all his confidence has evaporated, in much the same way that Aviva’s had abruptly left her. He glances away, his shoulders sagging a little, then turns back to Aviva. There’s something different in his gaze, though Aviva can’t quite put her finger on what, exactly, has changed.

“Do you think I should call into Bob’s for delivery now? I figure if we head back to your place in a couple minutes, the food should be there soon after we are,” he says, but Aviva has the distinct feeling that he hadn’t been planning to talk about dinner originally at all.

“Are you sure that’s what you wanted to ask?”

Aviva can hardly believe the words coming out of her own mouth. She’s  _ never _ this bold.

Maybe she had become more hypothermic than she’d thought? She had heard, once, that low body temperature could affect one’s thinking…

Or maybe she just really wants to broach this topic with Gordie. Assuming, of course, that the topic he wants to broach is the same thing she does.

Gordie sucks in a breath, looking at her with an unfathomable expression for a moment.

“I - um,” he stammers. Just when Aviva thinks he’s going to tell her what he’d really been thinking, he deflates again. “Yeah.”

A moment of silence stretches out between them; Aviva can see how crestfallen he is, and is very nearly overcome by the urge to comfort him, to put one arm around his broad shoulders and hold him close. Instead, the most she can do is squeeze his hands gently.

“Then yeah, I suppose ordering from Bob’s now would be a good idea,” she says quietly. “Do you know what you want?”

“I’ve got an idea,” Gordie murmurs. “But let’s go ahead and check their menu; I want to see if they have any good daily specials.”

Somehow, the usual enthusiasm, the pep and spark, is gone from his voice.

The two of them pull up a menu on Gordie’s Rotom Phone, browsing the offerings quickly. Although Bob’s is, fundamentally, a steakhouse, the restaurant is versatile and doesn’t only do high-quality meat dishes, or expensive surf and turf; they also offer some good options for takeaway, and the two of them scroll straight to that section of the menu first.

One thought crosses Aviva’s mind, though, and she frowns.

“I must not be thinking straight, because I didn’t think Bob’s did delivery?” She asks, turning to glance up at Gordie. As she does, she realizes how incredibly close they are; they’d been leaning together over his phone, so close together that her hair brushes against his as she moves.

“Oh, they don’t,” Gordie says, turning towards Aviva the slightest bit. “I’m going to order through GrubbinHub. They’ll deliver for us, and I have a discount if I use the app.”

“You’re so high-tech, Gordie,” Aviva can’t help but tease him, and she leans her head in the slightest amount, so that her temple rests against his. “I find it tiring to keep up with all that stuff, sometimes.”

“That’s all right, Vi,” Gordie murmurs, one of his hands leaving his phone to settle over hers again. Her hands are warm at this point, but she still welcomes his touch, feeling her heart flutter at the realization that he’s touching her because he  _ wants _ to - there’s no pretense of keeping her warm that he could fall back on, anymore. “I like you the way you are. You’re brilliant and unique, with your shop and your books…you don’t need to be high-tech to be really cool.”

Aviva feels her cheeks heating up again at his words, but before she can say anything in response, Gordie continues.

“Well - I’m going to go ahead and put in our orders. Did you want anything to drink to go with that?”

Aviva thinks for a moment.

“No, I think I’ll just stick with some tea I’ve got at home,” she decides. “You’re welcome to have some, too, if you’d like.”

Gordie turns to her, smiling at her with more of the usual sparkle in his eyes.

“Yeah?” He asks.

“Course,” Aviva smiles back. To her surprise, Gordie leans in a little more, tapping his forehead to hers affectionately.

“You’re the best, Vi,” he says.

Then Gordie pulls away and turns his attention back to his phone, navigating to the GrubbinHub app with one hand. Aviva’s impressed by how dexterous he is as he uses one thumb to make several selections in quick succession. Although he’d certainly be faster doing this with two hands, he continues to keep his other hand placed on hers; in fact, his thumb begins to rub the back of her palm somewhat absently.

Aviva smiles at this little gesture, and twines her fingers with his.

He really is too cute.

After a moment, Gordie presses a button to finalize the order, and he looks up, putting his phone away.

“There. Should be about 25 minutes until we get our food,” he announces. “And your TV special should be starting soon after that, too, so that’ll be nice.”

“Sounds rad,” Aviva smiles. “Thank you, Gordie.”

“You’re welcome, Vi,” he smiles back in response. For a moment, his eyes linger on hers - then he glances away.

Aviva braces herself, expecting him to ask if she was ready to go home yet. She’d had plenty of time to savor with him here, she reminds herself; it really was time to head out. The snow is coming down heavier than ever, and some of it is starting to stick. It’s high time they get off the streets and inside.

Still, she can’t help but feel a touch disappointed, like they’d been on the cusp of something big and had mutually backed away from it.

But to her surprise, Gordie turns back to her.

“Can I tell you something?” He asks, his voice deep and quiet - and, surprisingly, shy.

“Of course,” Aviva replies, trying to keep her voice gentle in return. Hope flutters in her chest, despite the fact that she tries to tell herself not to get too excited about anything just yet.

This might not be anything big. She might just be fooling herself with wishful thinking.

But then Gordie adds,

“If I make a fool of myself, please stop me,” and Aviva’s heart begins to pitter-patter in her chest.

Surely, there’s only a couple reasons someone might say something like that.

“Don’t worry. You won’t make a fool of yourself, Gordie,” Aviva murmurs, squeezing his hand encouragingly. Gordie glances down to where their hands are entwined, then takes a deep breath and meets Aviva’s gaze once more.

“I might,” he says. “But it’s okay if I do, because you deserve to hear this, one way or another. Vi…I wasn’t going to ask you earlier if you wanted me to put in an order at Bob’s,” he admits. Aviva’s heart races faster; so she had been right, then. There had been more, and though they’d backed down from sharing the truth behind their feelings at first, they were fast approaching it once more. 

“I had the feeling that you weren’t,” Aviva says gently. When a beat of silence passes, Aviva squeezes Gordie’s hand again, and asks, “What were you going to ask me?”

“Well,” Gordie says, swallowing hard. “I was actually going to tell you that I think you’re the prettiest, funniest, cutest, and most brilliant woman I’ve ever met in my life.”

“You do?” Aviva breathes, her head swimming. Despite suspecting what was coming, it still feels unreal to actually hear it, out loud, from the man in front of her.

Moreover, she hadn’t expected to hear quite so many kind words used to describe her. She hadn’t dared to get her hopes up for anything more than just a simple “I like you.”

“I do,” Gordie agrees fervently. “Vi, I promised, earlier today, to tell you what I thought of you, besides just the fact that you’re kind-hearted. So…yeah. This is me telling you that I think the world of you, and you deserve to know it.”

“Gordie,” is all Aviva can manage to say. The man smiles at her, squeezing her hands gently; when Aviva squeezes his hands back, his smile grows and he continues to speak.

“When you said earlier that you haven’t had a nice nickname from anyone in a long time, it just…I don’t know, Vi, it melted my heart. Because every time I look at you, I have to stop myself from calling you beautiful, and I don’t see how the rest of the world can’t look at you and see exactly what I see.”

Aviva feels a lump in her throat; when she speaks, the words come out barely above a whisper.

“What  _ do _ you see, Gordie?”

Gordie takes another steadying breath, his eyes searching hers. 

“I see a woman I’m falling in love with,” he admits. “More and more every day.”

Aviva’s mouth dries suddenly, and she feels her heart pounding so loudly, she can hear it in her ears. Her vision seems to tunnel down to nothing but Gordie and his blue eyes, which sparkle and shimmer brilliantly in the evening light.

A man as incredible as him - a man she most definitely has feelings for - is falling in love with her?

“Vi?” Gordie asks, pulling her out of her thoughts. “If I’ve overstepped, I’m so sorry -”

“No,” Vi breathes, reaching up to cup his cheek. He blinks at the gesture, but then lets out a breath and leans into her touch the slightest bit. “No, you’re fine. More than fine,” she corrects herself quickly. “I - I just can’t believe that I could be so lucky, that you might be falling for me.”

“Really?” Gordie murmurs, leaning into her touch just a little more, his eyes shimmering with hope.

“Yeah. I think you’re a wonderful, handsome, good man,” Aviva murmurs, letting her thumb stroke his cheek in much the same way that his had stroked her hand moments ago. “I always truly enjoy spending time with you. You’re sweet-hearted, funny, and always kind to me. And I think I’m falling in love with you, too, Gordie.”

Gordie’s eyes widen at her admission, and she watches his lips part a moment in surprise, then close as he swallows hard. 

“I - Vi, I - you have no idea how happy I am to hear that,” he murmurs, one of his big hands reaching up to cup her face in return. His touch is gentle, soothing, and she leans into it, surprised by how natural the movement feels to her. “You’re so beautiful. Inside and out. The thought that you might love me, too…”

He trails off for a moment, his eyes darting down to her mouth.

Then, a moment later, he moves in, pressing his lips to hers.

It’s a chaste kiss, no more than a gentle touch, and it ends quickly. Gordie pulls back, a caring light in his eyes as he asks,

“Was that all right?”

“More than all right,” Aviva says breathlessly, letting her hand slip around to the back of his neck. Then, using her newfound leverage, she pulls him into a proper kiss.

This time, the two crush together; Gordie’s lips are soft, full, warm, and he moves them against Aviva in a way that makes her immediately want more. Gordie’s big thumb strokes her cheek gently as they kiss; then after a long moment, he lets his hand slide back into her soft hair, pulling her closer still.

Before the kiss can become any more intense, both of them pull back for air, almost in unison. Gordie leans in again, tapping his forehead against hers.

“Wow,” he breathes. “Can we - can we head back to your place? I’d love to kiss you again, but I don’t want things to become a media spectacle, either. Not - not that all I want to do is kiss you, either!” He adds, blushing intensely.

“It’s all right, Gordie,” Aviva laughs, pulling back a little more. “I definitely want another kiss out of you tonight. But I also get that if I keep snogging you here, someone’s bound to notice that the ever-so-popular Circhester Gym Leader has a lady friend,” she adds with a quiet chuckle. Half of her is expecting Gordie to blush further at her teasing - but instead, he positively lights up.

“A lady friend,” he smiles. “I like the sound of that. Could I call you my girlfriend, Vi?”

Aviva’s smile spreads wider than ever before.

“As long as I can call you my boyfriend,” she returns. Before she even realizes what’s happening, Gordie leans in, pressing another quick kiss on her lips.

“I’d love it if you did,” he smiles, nuzzling his nose against hers.

“Cool beans,” is all Aviva can think to say, and somehow, this is the perfect combination of cheesy and wonderful for the moment. The two of them dissolve into laughter, Aviva dropping her head against Gordie’s shoulder. 

“Where do you get these phrases from?” Gordie laughs, holding her close.

“I don’t even know,” Aviva admits, still laughing.

“Well,” Gordie says, one hand coming to smooth down the back of her hair as he holds her still more tightly to his shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I think they’re all adorable.” Finally, he pulls back, and Aviva sits up, recovering from her unexpected giggles. “Ah, we’d better get heading back to your place,” Gordie sighs, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “As much as I’d love to stay here and kiss you and laugh with you…I don’t want to miss that food delivery, either.”

“Definitely not,” Aviva agrees. “The roads are starting to look like they’re in less than great condition, too.”

“Right,” Gordie realizes, casting an eye to the snowy world outside the Hero’s Bath. Then, he turns back to Aviva, his hands sliding from where they rest on her upper back around to her shoulders. “Are you warmed up enough to make it back home all right?” he asks gently.

“Yeah, I’m good now,” Aviva agrees. “Though if you still wanted to hold my hand…”

“Oh, I definitely do,” Gordie agrees readily, finally drawing away from her fully. He wastes no time, standing and offering his hand to her. Aviva takes it, and Gordie gently pulls her up to her feet, too, then twines his big fingers with hers.

Together, the pair begin walking down the streets of Circhester, towards Aviva’s apartment - but more than that, towards a new future together.

“Roads are already getting a bit icy,” Gordie murmurs. “Hold tight to me - I’ll make sure you’re alright.”

Aviva can’t help but smile, letting her other hand come up to rest on her boyfriend’s closest arm.

“I know you will,” she murmurs, letting a genuine smile spread across her lips. She’s already getting chilly in the Circhester air once more, but she doesn’t mind, because in her heart, there’s a warmth that no cold can put out - the kind of warmth that comes from finally knowing that somebody you love and care about feels the same way about you.

As Aviva walks arm-in-arm with Gordie, she can’t help but feel, in that moment, like the luckiest girl in all of Galar.


End file.
